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Week 11 Volleyball Notes
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    PLAYER OF THE WEEK Hawai'i junior Victoria Prince has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 1. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor of the year for the transfer from Washington State.

    The Kennewick, Wash, native sparked the Rainbow Wahine to a pair of road WAC wins over Boise State and San Jose State. Prince averaged 4.38 kpg, 1.88 bpg and 0.5 sapg. She also hit hitting .435 on the week. Prince had 15 kills, seven blocks, seven digs and two aces, while hitting .464 in the three-game win over San Jose State. Against Boise State, Prince added 20 kills, eight blocks, two aces and a .412 hitting percentage.

    The wins helped Hawai'i retain its one point lead over Rice in the point totals for seeding in the WAC Tournament. The Rainbow Wahine are 20-0 this season and 10-0 in WAC play.

    Other nominees included: Heather Malaschak, Boise State; Heather Anderson, Louisiana Tech; Salaia Salave`a, Nevada; Lindsey Carter, Rice; Beth Karasek, SMU; Ashley Ripple, UTEP and Joyce Silva, Tulsa.

    WEEK SIX OF WAC ACTION In the seventh week of WAC action, Nevada will hit the road to try to extend its season-high seven match winning streak. The Wolf Pack are 8-2 in the WACs Western Division and look to reach the double-digit mark in league games on the road this week at San Jose State. Nevada will then step out of league play to face instate rival UNLV on Nov. 7. SMU looks to break its season-high seven match losing streak this week at home against Louisiana Tech, which is trying to break its nine-match losing streak.

    FAST STARTS This marks the third time in five years that Hawaii got off to at least an 18-0 start, also doing it in 2000 and 2002. Both of those seasons ended with a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Last season, the Rainbow Wahine lost the second match of the season and then won 35-straight matches before falling to Florida in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. With a 21-3 record in the 2004 campaign, Rice is off to its best start in program history behind first-year head coach Genny Volpe. The teams 10-1 WAC record marks the best start in league play ever.

    ITS ALL IN THE NUMBERS Hawaii has several startling streaks going this season. The Rainbow Wahine have won 48 regular season matches and 88 regular season WAC matches. Including the WAC Tournament, Hawaii has won 100-straight matches against league opponents. Hawaii has won an unbelievable 192-straight matches against unranked opponents.

    NCAA LEADERS Hawaii setter Kanoe Kamana`o moved up to seventh in the country in assists per game (13.93 apg), while Rices Kristina Hoban is 19th (13.24 apg) and SMUs Jessica Mihm is 23rd (13.19 apg). Boise States Heather Malaschak is 12th in blocks (1.66 bpg), while Rices Tessa Kuykendall is 14th (1.63 bpg). Hawaii transfer Victoria Prince continues to climb the charts in hitting percentage. She is ninth, hitting .404. Last week, she was 11th in the nation. Nevadas Salaia Salave`a is 27th in kills per game (4.96 kpg), while Tulsas Joyce Silva is 29th (4.92 kpg) and SMUs Beth Karasek is 30th (4.91 kpg). Tulsa freshman Kassiana Urnau is 13th in the nation this week in service aces per game, averaging 0.64 sapg.

    WOLF PACK WINNING STREAK REACHES SEVEN Nevada won a season high seventh consecutive match following a 3-1 win over Fresno State last week. With the victory the Wolf Pack improved to 15-6 overall and 8-2 in WAC action. This week, the Wolf Pack play two road matches, the first being a conference match at San Jose State on Nov. 6 and then the final non-conference match of the season at UNLV on Nov. 7

    Nevada is in its fifth year in the WAC and have posted a 42-23 overall conference match record. The Wolf Pack have not posted a losing record since joining the conference going 10-6 (2000), 9-4 (2001), 8-5 (2002), 7-6 (2003) and 8-2 (2004).

    TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO RENO For the third-straight season, the WAC Volleyball Tournament returns to Virginia Street Gym and the campus of the University of Nevada. The tournament will be played Nov. 19-21 with the top eight teams advancing.

    AGAINST THE BEST Hawaii leads the way this season against ranked teams. The Rainbow Wahine are 4-0 against teams that were ranked at the time of the match. Hawaii has wins over No. 17 Arizona, No. 17 Santa Clara, No. 3 UCLA and No. 14 California. The WAC is 5-5 (.500) against non-conference ranked teams. Three teams have losses to teams in the top 10. Rice lost in five games to No. 1 Minnesota, while defeating No. 20 LMU. Nevada also went the distance with then No. 6-Stanford. Boise State lost to then-No. 3 Washington.

    CURRENT POINT STANDINGS The current point standings for seeding in the WAC Tournament are as follows:

    Hawaii 15
    Rice 14
    Nevada 12
    Boise State 10
    San Jose State 9
    Fresno State 7
    Tulsa 4
    SMU 3
    UTEP 2
    Louisiana Tech 1

    TOURNAMENT CREDENTIAL DEADLINES Request forms for credentials for the 2004 WAC Volleyball Tournament are now available through the league office. Media requesting hotel rooms must have their credential forms in by Wednesday, Nov. 3. If no room is requested, the deadline is Monday, Nov. 15. The WAC Volleyball Tournament is slated for Nov. 19-21 at the Virginia Street Gym in Reno, Nev.

    PACKING THE STANDS Hawaii continues to pack the stands this season. The Rainbow Wahine have already drawn 96,048 fans in 14 matches for an average 6,861. Hawaii also has eight of the top 10 attended games, including the second highest attendance of the season when 8,656 saw Hawaii defeat Pepperdine in three games. There were also 7,954 fans that saw the Rainbow Wahine upset No. 3 UCLA 3-2. There were 7,453 fans that saw Hawaii beat Eastern Division rival Rice on Oct. 21. The highest attended match this season is the 10,921 that saw Minnesota defeat Illinois on Oct. 16.

    WELCOME TO THE WAC Next season, Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State will join the WAC. Both Idaho and New Mexico State advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season. The Vandals lost to Hawaii in Honolulu in the first round. New Mexico State lost to BYU in the first round. The Aggies were a perfect 15-0 in the Sun Belt in 2003.

    This season, New Mexico State is 23-2, 11-0 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Aggies have won 29-straight Sun Belt matches. NMSU defeated future league partner UTEP, 3-0. The other Aggies, Utah State, are 7-13, 3-9 in the Big West. They are winners of four of their last seven matches. The Idaho Vandals are 14-8 so far this season, 9-4 in the Big West Conference.

    REGIONAL SITES SET The NCAA Division I Womens Volleyball Committee has announced the following sites for regional competition of the 2004 NCAA Division I Womens Volleyball Championships. The first sight is the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Ky., along with the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minn.; Bank America Arena in Seattle, Wash., and the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis. Louisville, Minnesota, Washington and Wisconsin-Green Bay are the hosts for regionals, which will be held December 9-12.